The Strange Story of Tanya Head, the Most Famous 9/11 Survivor
The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, shook the world. The center of the tragedy was the twin towers of the World Trade Center, where many people died. The stories of the few survivors aroused great interest. They were invited to appear on television, interviews were published. Among these people, Tania Head stood out - a woman who headed the World Trade Center Survivors' Network for seven years. Her story seemed incredible, but, as it turned out, not everything in it was true.
According to Tanya, she was on the 93rd floor of the South Tower in the office of the investment bank Merrill Lynch when the first plane hit the North Tower. Ignoring the command to stay put, the woman decided to go to the elevator on the 78th floor. But a crowd had already gathered there, and at that moment the second plane hit the South Tower.
When Tanya came to, there were pieces of marble, glass and metal structures lying around her. The elevator hall was littered with dead and dying people. A thick cloud of dust hung in the air and the woman began to feel her way towards the stairwell. There she met other survivors, with whom she followed another 40 flights down. Then Tanya lost consciousness, but was carried out in the arms of a fireman.
Tanya Head and her rescuer were only 100 meters away from the building when it collapsed. Large pieces of debris began to fall around them, leaving no chance of survival. But the firefighter covered the woman with his body, saving her at the cost of his own life. When the roar of the collapse died down, Tanya crawled out from under the body of her rescuer and finally fell into the arms of emergency medical personnel.
Survivor Tanya Head was taken to the hospital, where she spent a month recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning and a hand injury. She was the only Merryll Lynch employee to survive. Her fiancé, who worked on the 101st floor of the North Tower, also died. After her miraculous rescue, Tanya fell into depression and was unable to go to work. Instead, she devoted herself entirely to organizing aid for the victims.
Tanya Head headed the 9/11 Survivors Association and became a public figure. She gave interviews, appeared on TV shows, unveiled monuments, and traveled around the United States giving lectures. Head met with celebrities and politicians, and even hosted events with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on several occasions. Her story evoked admiration from millions. Tanya was one of four people who survived from offices above the 75th floor, the other three being young and strong men.
Several years passed, which Tanya Head devoted entirely to the events of the tragedy. And now, on the next anniversary, The New York Times decided to publish a large-scale article about the terrorist attack. The key part of the article was to be the story of Tanya's rescue. The journalists approached the work thoroughly and for the first time checked the facts provided by the woman.
Journalists found many controversial points in Tanya Head's stories. The more they checked her story, the more questions arose. Tanya refused to give any explanations and demanded to be left alone. She forbade the publication of interviews and began to avoid representatives of the press. Of course, this only fueled interest in her person.
The big article did come out, but its topic was completely unexpected. It exposed the story of Tanya Head, which, as it turned out, was made up from start to finish. It turned out that the woman had never studied at Harvard or worked at Merryll Lynch. Moreover, she had never worked a day in her life. The groom also did not exist - instead, Tanya named a dead man whom she had never met.
Many people wondered: was Tanya Head even in the South Tower on September 11, 2001? For many, it seemed unthinkable, because for seven long years this woman was a symbol of the tragedy. Tanya had many defenders. They claimed that even if she did not work at the bank in question, this does not cancel out her suffering during the terrorist attack.
The investigation established that Tanya Head was not at the crash site. This was clearly indicated by details that, for some reason, had previously gone unnoticed. For example, Tanya claimed that when she stood by the elevator on the 78th floor, she saw the wing of an airplane outside the window a moment before the explosion. However, the location of the elevator hall ruled out this possibility.
Experts determined that it was impossible to survive on the 78th floor due to the blast wave and the cloud of hot gases. In addition, the part of the story with the fireman was seriously questionable. Tanya claimed that she, weighing over 100 kg, was carried down 20 floors in the arms of a rescuer. And all this happened in complete darkness and conditions of heavy smoke, which sounded extremely implausible.
Tanya Head was not in the South Tower on September 11. Moreover, she was not only not in New York that day, but in the United States at all. She arrived in the country only in 2004 from Barcelona. After that, no one was surprised to learn that no Tanya Head ever existed. The woman who invented her tragic fate was actually named Alicia Esteve.
Alicia got all of her information about the events of September 11 from the press. The scar on her hand had nothing to do with the terrorist attack - Estiv got it from a car accident. All of the events and people in Alicia's story were real. Only Tanya Head was a completely fictional character.
It is unknown where Spanish woman Alicia Estiv is now and what she is doing. Some say that after being exposed, she changed her name again and fled to Europe. Others claim that the woman could not bear the shame and committed suicide. Her story remains a lesson in how far people are willing to go for recognition and sympathy.
Why do you think people make up stories like this? What do you think about such actions? Share your opinion in the comments